Sun Safety: Protecting Your Child’s Skin

The sunscreen question usually comes first, and the answer for babies under six months is to keep them out of direct sun rather than coat them in it. Shade, clothing, and timing do the work at that age. After six months, a mineral formula built on zinc oxide or titanium dioxide is the usual choice for thin skin, put on about fifteen minutes ahead and again every two hours or straight after water. Broad spectrum at roughly SPF 30 covers it, and a higher number buys less than reapplying does.

Everything else is about not needing much sunscreen in the first place. A beach tent is judged on its UPF rating, whether it stakes down in wind, and whether one adult can put it up while holding a baby. A hat needs a brim wide enough to shade ears and the back of the neck plus a chin strap, or it ends up in the sand. Sunglasses only help if they block 100 percent of UVA and UVB and stay on, which is a fit and strap problem more than a lens problem. Car shades earn their place on long afternoon drives, where static cling panels hold better than suction cups, and nothing goes anywhere that blocks the driver’s view.